Catapult guides energy innovators through progress hurdles

 
The Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) has launched a new Innovator Toolkit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to guide them through the energy sector transformation.

The toolkit, developed with the Energy Innovation Centre, includes guidelines aimed at helping innovative start-ups and SMEs in accessing funding, and test and demonstration facilities across the UK.

The Innovator Toolkit is being developed in response to a May 2017 survey of the ESC’s global innovation community which identified the need for a tool that allows innovators to access and link with industry better.

Businesses will now be able to explore and find funding opportunities, through the ‘Guide to Funding’, while the ‘Guide to Energy Sector Testing & Demonstration Facilities’ has been created specifically to provide the sector with a deeper knowledge and understanding of the testing and demonstration facilities available nationwide, and their capabilities.

Eva Gromadzki, Head of Research and Collaboration at ESC, said: “SME innovators will be critical to the UK achieving the 2050 carbon reduction target and we are committed to helping strengthen their collaboration with industry, academia and government by bridging gaps in market development.

“By providing guides for funding and key energy sector testing and demonstration facilities, we can support SMEs to deliver and indeed test innovations in real-world scenarios both in the UK and worldwide. We hope this toolkit will be adopted by the global innovation community and we will measure its effectiveness over the coming months.”

Denise Massey, Managing Director at Energy Innovation Centre, added: “These guides will enable innovators to understand how they might test their concepts and new technologies, whilst the funding paper should offer a clearer pathway to securing valuable funding to kick-start delivery.

“The ultimate goal will be seeing uplift in the number of innovations and ideas translating into commercially successful applications that are adopted into business as usual.”

Established in 2015, the ESC is part of the government’s Catapult network and is focused on helping UK innovators unlock value from the transition to a low-carbon energy system through the development of new products and services that will support the transformation of UK and global energy systems.